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Firming agent

Food additives that strengthen processed food

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors

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Source updated June 3, 2022

Firming agents are food additives added in order to precipitate residual pectin, thus strengthening the structure of the food and preventing its collapse during processing.

These are salts, typically lactates or phosphates, calcium salts or aluminum sulfates.

They are mainly used for (fresh) fruit and vegetables. For example, in the case of fruit sold cut into wedges, the pulp can be sprayed with a solution of the respective salt. They are salts that react with an ingredient in the product, such as the pectin in the fruit.

Typical firming agents are:

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Firming agent”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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